Fire Investigators Sift Through Ashes Of Ybor City Antiques Store

By ELLEN GEDALIUS The Tampa Tribune

Published: Nov 28, 2006

TAMPA - As fire inspectors wrap up their investigation, demolition work will begin this afternoon on the building that caught fire in Ybor City on Sunday night.

The two-story building at 2201 E. Seventh Ave. housed Le Chateau, a French antiques store full of mirrors, lamps, paintings, chandeliers and other furniture. The structure was valued at more than $600,000.

An adjacent building was to be rendered unfit for human habitation.

No one was injured in the blaze. No cause had been determined Monday. Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade declined to speculate on whether the fire was arson. Investigators found no evidence of accelerants.

The building had not been inspected by fire marshals in about eight years, raising concerns about whether the city has enough fire inspectors.

"If there's a deficiency, we'll try to shore it up," Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said. "The one area of city government that has a huge need for personnel is the fire department. We're tying to continue to give the fire department resources."

The city has seven fire inspector positions, with one person focusing on schools. Three of the seven positions are vacant, said Geoff Brown, assistant fire marshal.

Buildings often go uninspected for years.

"I can't say it's all that unusual," Fire Marshal Todd Spear said. "We have to make use of all the resources we have."

The more likely the loss of life, the more often a building is inspected, Spear said.

Fire marshals try to inspect buildings such as hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers and schools every year. Nightclubs are inspected every other year.

Retail spots and business offices are considered lowest priority. The goal is to inspect them every five years.

No major deficiencies were noted on the property's fire inspection reports. The inspections, however, only covered the first floor. The second floor has been vacant for years and was not recently inspected. Officials said the fire appears to have started on the second floor.

Mayor Met With Shop Owner

The smell of smoke from the fire remained overpowering Monday night. Glass and other debris from the fire remained strewn about Seventh Avenue and 22nd Street.

Azza Ahmed, who owns the antiques shop, was too distraught to talk to reporters. She sobbed as she watched officials survey the damage.

"The building itself is a total loss," Wade said. "The building is very old. The mortar is no longer strong enough to hold the bricks together."

Iorio visited the scene early Monday morning and met with Ahmed.

"She poured her whole life into that business," Iorio said.

The Tribune reported in a recent feature story that Ahmed offered her customers wholesale prices because the furniture she sells is made by a factory her husband runs.

According to Tampa Fire Rescue, the building's owner said the upstairs was empty. It reportedly had no electrical service. Le Chateau has been open about seven years, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

Next door, Jason Sanchez owns One Net Enterprises. Bricks and mortar cracked at his property, and the city's code enforcement department said the building would be rendered unfit for human habitation.

His wholesale distribution company's inventory includes toys, aboveground pools and costumes. This week is one of his busiest all year.

"My Santa costumes are all full of soot," Sanchez said. "I'm going to try to get my business back up and running. That's the main thing."

At the Columbia Restaurant, smoke filtered inside, but the restaurant was not damaged, fire officials said.

Richard Gonzmart, co-owner of the Columbia, was grateful that his family restaurant was spared. "We're blessed," said Gonzmart, whose family has owned the restaurant for 101 years. "I feel like my great-grandfather, my grandfather and my parents are looking down on the Columbia Restaurant."

Gonzmart said the restaurant opened at 11 a.m. Monday, its usual time, and had a crowd about 80 percent the normal size, even though people had to struggle to get to the restaurant because of road closings. He was grateful for the firefighters' work and treated them to lunch.

Gonzmart said his "heart bleeds" for the owner of the building that burned down and the woman who owns the antiques business. "I can't imagine her pain having lost everything," he said.

History Destroyed

The building may date to 1910, said Rodney Kite-Powell, curator at the Tampa Bay History Center. According to a 1915 map, the building was single story. A second story may have been added in 1916 and housed a pharmacy until 1938.

The building stood empty during World War II. In 1946, it became the Columbia Furniture and Hardware store. It has been various furniture stores in recent years.

"It's such a shame when these old buildings go," Kite-Powell said. "There are fewer and fewer of them left."

The building was an architecturally distinct structure at one of Ybor City's most visible and trafficked intersections, said Tom Keating, president of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce.

The location is significant because it is across the street from the Columbia , and it is on 22nd Street, the route that leads from Ybor City to Interstate 4.

Keating said he hopes to preserve parts of the buildings, but fire officials at the scene said that was unlikely.

"It's an important part of the streetscape and it's an important corner. We'd like to see that brick facade be saved, if at all possible," Keating said. "It would be great to be able to restore the building, rather than demolish it."

The antiques business at 2201 E. Seventh Ave. was part of a cluster of home design and furniture businesses in the area, Keating said.

County records show that the building at 2201 E. Seventh Ave. is owned by Andre D. Callen.

Callen is a vice president and director of H.I. Development Corp., a Tampa-based hotel management and development company, according to documents filed with the Florida Department of State.

H.I. Development owns and runs the Ashley Plaza Hotel next to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

TRAFFIC ALERT

Motorists are advised to avoid 22nd Street between Sixth and Eighth avenues. The area will not reopen to traffic until this afternoon at the earliest.

Researcher Catherine Hammer and reporters Janis D. Froelich, Thomas W. Krause, Elaine Silvestrini and Dave Simanoff contributed to this report. Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.